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Prior to the federal government tabling Bill C-32, an Act for the Substantive Equality of French and English and the Strengthening of the Official Languages Act, the Standing Senate Committee on Official Languages studied the original proposed reform document. Although they were unable to meet in the senate, the committee managed to hold two meetings … Read more

Quebec anglophone groups say they will be dramatically under-represented at this fall’s Bill 96 hearings. Out of 50 speakers invited to take part in the hearings for the government’s proposed overhaul of language legislation, Sept. 21 to Oct. 7, there are just three groups representing the anglophone community. “We’re calling for broader participation in those hearings,” … Read more

Bill C-32, which amends the Official Languages Act, has been welcomed by groups representing francophone communities outside Quebec. For Quebec Anglophones, the reception has been much more mixed, although most of their concerns are focused on the Quebec government’s Bill 96 (the reform of Bill 101). Francopresse spoke – in French – with Marlene Jennings, … Read more

Federal minister of official languages Mélanie Joly and MNA Christopher Skeete, parliamentary assistant to Premier François Legault for relations with English-speaking Quebecers, are trying to reassure members of the English-speaking community concerned about recently tabled language legislation. Skeete and Joly spoke on June 22 during a conference organized by the Quebec Community Groups Network (QCGN) … Read more

Panelists suggest Trudeau’s support is motivated by ‘political calculation’ After more than a half-century of rising and falling tensions between Quebecers over the use of English and French, concerns are rising among stakeholders that some rights and protections Quebec anglophones fought for since the introduction of Bill 101 more than 40 years ago are threatened … Read more

During a panel discussion moderated by former Alliance Quebec president and radio host Royal Orr at the Quebec Community Groups Network Zoom Conference themed “Our Place in Quebec and Canada,” former MNA and MP Clifford Lincoln says he believes the CAQ government’s long-term plan is to “make Quebec an independent state with French as the … Read more

This weekend marks the unofficial end of the political season. The National Assembly and House of Commons have broken for their summer recesses, and politics takes a deep breath for two months. For Quebec’s anglophone community, however, this is no time to sit back and relax. In the fall, the community will be facing one … Read more

Anglo-Quebecers also reject Bill C-32, but on completely different grounds than the Bloc Québécois. The asymmetrical approach of Bill C-32, which recognizes French as the more endangered of the country’s two official languages, is “a clear attack on the equality of Canada’s official languages,” according to the Quebec Community Groups Network (QCGN) “Traditionally, the Official … Read more

If the current draft of Bill 96 passes, language police can come into businesses without a warrant to search through phones, computers, and documents to ensure that communications are in French. This was a main point of discussion during English language advocacy organization Quebec Community Groups Network’s conference on draft Bill 96 on June 21. … Read more